In 1825 a typhoon came screaming across the South China Sea and literally smashed the city of Macao, where Portuguese settlers had once constructed a cathedral overlooking the harbor.   When the force of the typhoon had subsided, not much was left of the cathedral.  It was all gone save the front wall of the church which was left standing, and the bronze cross affixed to the crest of the facade.  When the English governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Bowring, came to survey the damage, he was visibly impressed that only the cross remained standing.